UWV

Ryanair can't simply dismiss its staff that worked from its Eindhoven base for the time being, benefits agency UWV concluded after assessing a collective dismissal request submitted by the Irish budget airline, unions VNV and FNV announced.

The number of unemployed people in the Netherlands decreased to 326 thousand in November. That means that 3.5 percent of the Dutch labor force are unemployed, slightly lower than before the outbreak of the financial crisis at the end of 2008, Statistics Netherlands reported on Thursday.

Statistics Netherlands considers someone to be unemployed if he or she does not have paid work, is actively looking for work, and is available to start immediately. Over the past three months the number of unemployed people declined by an average of 9 thousand per month.

Ryanair filed for the collective dismissal of its Dutch staff, including 16 Dutch pilots who previously won a lawsuit against the Irish budget airline, pilots' union VNV said. Ryanair said it is taking this step for economic reasons, NU.nl reports.

The approach to unemployment benefit fraud by migrant workers does not have the "necessary urgency", Minister Wouter Koolmees of Social Affairs wrote in a letter to the Tweede Kamer following reports by Nieuwsuur about large-scale fraud committed by labor migrants from Poland.

Dozens of convicted criminals are still receiving benefits, despite having an outstanding prison sentence against their names, RTL Nieuws reports based on its own research. The police and judiciary can't find them to arrest them, but social services and benefits agency UWV know how to find them to pay their benefits, the broadcaster writes.

The massive primary school teacher shortage in the Netherlands seems to be mainly limited to the big cities in the west of the country, according to figures from benefits agency UWV that newspaper Trouw requested. There are enough, or even more than enough, teachers in the north, east, and south of the Netherlands, the newspaper writes.

As you get farther away from the big cities, it becomes easier and easier to fill vacancies. Outside the Randstad there are still more teachers than there are jobs available, and some teachers even struggle to find work.

The Inspectorate for Social Affairs and Employment fiercely criticized benefits agency UWV for how it handles the dismissal procedures for employees fired for economic reasons. According to the Inspectorate, the UWV barely checks information received from employers for factual inaccuracies and does not always adhere to a certain statutory regulation, Trouw reports.

Shortages on the Dutch labor market are only increasing, according to a report published by benefits agency UWV on Tuesday. Currently one in five employers experience production issues due to staff shortages. In sectors like temporary employment, call centers, IT services, architects, and the metal- and technology industry, this increases to one in three employers, ANP reports.

In March 3.9 percent of the Netherlands' labor force were unemployed, compared to 4.1 percent in February. That is still above the unemployment level before the financial crisis in 2008, but the percentage halved since early in 2014, when unemployment peaked at 7.8 percent, Statistics Netherlands reported on Thursday.

Last month more than 8.7 million people between the ages of 15 and 75 years had paid work. That number increased by an average of 20 thousand per month over the past three months.

Unemployment in the Netherlands continues to fall. In February a total of 367 thousand people were unemployed, 4.1 percent of the working population. In January it was 4.2 percent. Over the past three months, the number of unemployed people in the Netherlands fell by 10 thousand per month, Statistics Netherlands reported on Thursday.

This year health care institutes will have to fill about 130 thousand vacancies, according to calculations by benefits agency UWV. But qualified staff is becoming increasingly difficult to find. Over the next four years, staff shortages in healthcare will increase to around 100 thousand people, according to the benefits agency, NU.nl reports.

The number of new unemployment benefits to young people up to the age of 27 years decreased by almost a quarter in 2017, benefits agency UWV announced. Last year a total of 61,500 young people received new unemployment benefits, compared to 80 thousand the year before, NU.nl reports.

A symposium held in Amersfoort last week showcased technological solutions that can help people with occupational disabilities find and keep a job. The symposium included technologies ranging from an augmented reality app that can show people with mild intellectual disabilities exactly how to disassemble and repair a ship's propellor shaft, for example, to an exoskeleton that enables users with physical disabilities to move their limbs and increase their strength, NRC reports.

Unemployment in the Netherlands continues to steadily decline. In November 4.4 percent of the labor force was unemployed, compared to 4.5 percent in October. That amounts to 397 thousand unemployed people, dropping below the 400 thousand mark for the first time since August 2009, Statistics Netherlands reported on Thursday.

In September 4.9 percent of the Dutch labor force were unemployed, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands and benefits agency UWV. This figure is the same as in August of this year, but lower than the 5.7 percent unemployment rate of September 2016.

The unemployment rate only includes unemployed people who want work and are available to start immediately. It does not include people who want to work, but aren't immediately available, or people with part time work who want to work more.

Since the establishment of the National Police in 2013, some 3 thousand police officers were placed on long-term sick leave and are now sitting at home with hardly any contact with their employer, Jan Struis, chairman of Dutch police union NPB, said on EenVandaag on Thursday. According to him, many of these cops were put on sick leave after expressing criticism about the police, ANP reports.

A massive 31 percent of people who receive welfare benefits in the Netherlands are also receiving psychological treatment, according to a study by Statistics Netherlands and Harvard University. Among people who work or go to school, 10 percent undergo psychological treatment, NOS reports.

Dutch benefits agency UWV wrongly refused to pay maternity leave to pregnant self-employed women and now has to make sure they get "appropriate compensation", the Central Council of Appeals ruled on Thursday in a case about three women who gave birth in 2005, ANP reports.

The number of job vacancies for young people is increasing rapidly in the Netherlands, especially for young people with vocational qualifications. Between September 2016 and February 2017 there were a total of 214 thousand vacancies at vocational level, according to a study by benefits agency UWV and the organization for cooperation between vocational education and the business world SBB, NU.nl reports.

The last quarter of 2016 had 26 percent more vocational vacancies than the same quarter in 2015.

Unemployment in the Netherlands dropped by an average of 6 thousand people per month over the past three months, according to Statistics Netherlands. Youth unemployment in particular plummeted, dropping from 9.7 percent in February to 9 percent in May - the lowest level since March 2009.

There is a rapidly increasing shortage in construction staff in the Netherlands, according to benefits agency UWV. There is a major need for carpenters, masons and installation engineers, as well as many vacancies for preparatory construction staff like jop preparers, ANP reports.

By next year the UWV expects an increase of 30 thousand jobs for construction workers. An increase of another 4 thousand jobs is also expected for freelancers.

Unemployment in the Netherlands dropped by an average of 6 thousand people per month during the first three months of this year, according to figures released by Statistics Netherlands. In March a total of 463 thousand people in the Netherlands were unemployed, 5.1 percent of the working population. In March last year, there were 574 thousand unemployed.

The number of people with paid work increased by an average of 14 thousand per month over the past three months. At the end of March benefits agency UWV was paying 415 thousand unemployment benefits, a decrease of 0.3 percent.

Long-term unemployment in the Netherlands decreased in 2016 for the firs time since 2009, Statistics Netherlands announced on Monday. There was even a decline among older workers, though the decrease was less significant than among younger age groups.

2016 saw the biggest drop in unemployment in the Netherlands in 10 years, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands. The unemployment rate dropped from 6.6 percent of the workforce in December 2015 to 5.4 percent in December 2016. The last time there was such a big decline in unemployment was in 2006, the statistics office announced on Thursday.

Last month 482 thousand people in the Netherlands were registered as unemployed and seeking work. That is 17 thousand fewer than in November 2016 and amounts to 5.4 percent of the workforce.